# CVE-2025-71234: wifi: rtl8xxxu: fix slab-out-of-bounds in rtl8xxxu_sta_add

> A slab-out-of-bounds write in the rtl8xxxu WiFi driver allows attackers to cause memory corruption, potentially leading to code execution or system crashes.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 18 Feb 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-71234, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-71234, GHSA-365g-rr2h-rx65, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2025-71234, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2025-71234, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-71234

## What is CVE-2025-71234?

CVE-2025-71234 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 18 Feb 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

wifi: rtl8xxxu: fix slab-out-of-bounds in rtl8xxxu_sta_add

The driver does not set hw->sta_data_size, which causes mac80211 to
allocate insufficient space for driver private station data in
__sta_info_alloc(). When rtl8xxxu_sta_add() accesses members of
struct rtl8xxxu_sta_info through sta->drv_priv, this results in a
slab-out-of-bounds write.

KASAN report on RISC-V (VisionFive 2) with RTL8192EU adapter:

  BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in rtl8xxxu_sta_add+0x31c/0x346
  Write of size 8 at addr ffffffd6d3e9ae88 by task kworker/u16:0/12

Set hw->sta_data_size to sizeof(struct rtl8xxxu_sta_info) during
probe, similar to how hw->vif_data_size is configured. This ensures
mac80211 allocates sufficient space for the driver's per-station
private data.

Tested on StarFive VisionFive 2 v1.2A board.

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-71234?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-71234?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-71234 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-71234 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-71234 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-71234 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 18 Feb 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-71234 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-71234/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-71234/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-71234
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-71234
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-71234

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-71234/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.